


sugary warmth

by imnotanironwall



Category: Kingdom Hearts
Genre: Cooking, First Christmas, Post-Kingdom Hearts III
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-12-26
Updated: 2019-12-26
Packaged: 2021-02-25 06:14:59
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,779
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/21971278
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/imnotanironwall/pseuds/imnotanironwall
Summary: This is his first Christmas in decades,theirfirst Christmas, and he wouldn't trade it for any other.
Comments: 4
Kudos: 18





	sugary warmth

**Author's Note:**

> This was my piece for the [KH Holiday Zine](https://twitter.com/KHholidayzine)!

Twilight Town’s sky had turned hues of pink, purple and blue as the moon shone brighter into the late afternoon; lights gleamed in red and green and white as people came back to their decorated houses, out of the cold piled up snow. Smoke filled the sky, white clouds forming and disappearing in succession under the distracted eyes of children running outside. Their laughter filled the air, anticipation for that upcoming night so palpable. The holidays were upon them. 

His own house had not been spared in the slightest, he thought as his fingers curled around a mug filled with cocoa. It was both his and Lea’s first holidays in decades and Xion and Roxas’ first, and it showed. A pine tree had been brought home as early as mid-November, and soon after was decorated with colorful tinsels and baubles. Lea started pestering him with ideas of presents and plans for trips - he would make sure all of their friends and allies over the years and months would be greatly rewarded for their love and support, they deserved to rest now, after all. 

And while his own excitement was more moderate, the thought of finally celebrating with the ones he loved filled him with joy. That was the spirit of the holiday, wasn’t it? Sharing warmth and love with those around us, cherishing them and exchanging presents that couldn’t express how grateful we were. It brought a smile to his lips. 

“ _ Hmm _ , it smells so good in here. What are you making?” Came the enthusiastic voice to his left. He lifted his gaze only to be met with a face full of dripping red hair and toothy smile -- and that was never a good omen. 

Cue, seconds later, he was crushed in a freezing embrace that chilled him to the bone. He almost spilled the content of his mug as he single-handedly pushed the humid face and lanky body away from him with a disgusted grunt. 

“I didn’t expect you for another hour or so,” he answered after getting away from a wet Lea who chuckled loudly. “I am baking some gingerbread.”

“Gingerbread? Is it good? I never ate any,” chimed in Xion as she entered the kitchen, quickly followed by a dripping wet Roxas. Isa frowned, he now understood why they came back so early -- she clearly beat them a little too hard during a snowball fight.

“It is. It’s going to take some time before what I baked can be eaten so I can make some cookies if you want, I have some leftover dough.” He put his mug down on the counter and turned toward the table where the dough was. He made a dismissive gesture towards Lea and Roxas. “If you’re going to stay in my kitchen any longer, though, I’d rather appreciate you stop dripping onto my floor. Go dry yourself.” 

Lea and Roxas left the kitchen without a word. Isa opened his mouth to propose to Xion if she wanted to help him but was promptly cut off by Roxas, whose voice echoed in the living-room. “ **_Aeroga_ ** !” A strong wind rattled the window and ruffled their hair, miraculously not knocking anything off, before settling down as fast as it had come. The silence hung for a moment until there was some shuffling and the two men re-entered the room as if nothing had happened.

Isa frown deepened, crossing his arms over his chest. “If I find anything broken, I’m kicking you two out,” he threatened, and no one could tell if there was any real bite behind it. He turned toward Xion once more, his expression softened immediately. “Lea can show you how to make the cookies, we used to make them together when we were younger.”

The man laughed, hands on his hips. “ _ Made _ ? We’d play and eat the leftover after your mom made some gorgeous stuff. But yeah, sure, I can show you!”

And he did, quite well for someone who had never baked anything since they had all been recompleted. He made small balls that he then flattened with a rolling pin, and with a knife, he drew the shape of one, two, three gingerbread men and placed them on the baking tray. Roxas and Xion followed suit, trying to imitate the movements of Lea. None of their creations were perfect, and soon enough, the dough turned into unrecognizable replicas of spaceships they had seen in movies - or what was  _ supposed  _ to be spaceships, Isa thought. He was pleasantly surprised to see them all behave so well; Lea never used to be the type to bake, for starter, but he definitely wasn’t the type to play fairly and calmly with food and friends — and the presence of two kids surely shouldn’t have helped with that. But here they were, each trying to make a better cookie than the others, relaxed, peaceful.  _ Xion must really have worn them out _ , Isa thought with a discreet but proud smile.

“As long as we can eat it after, I don’t really care what it looks like,” Roxas pointed out when they were done, and none of their “spaceships” actually looked like anything. And true enough, when they put it in the oven and the sweet and delicious smell of baked gingerbread tingled their noses, they all simultaneously hummed in delight despite the unusual and abstract shapes of the cookies.

Isa busied himself with preparing everyone a cup of hot cocoa. After all, the season called for such a delicious treat and that was one hot beverage they could all enjoy -- he would fancy some mulled wine, but he and Lea tried not to drink in front of their younger friends. When he handed over her cup to Xion, she raised her eyebrows. "Oh. What were you  _ really  _ baking before we came back? You have frosting on your sleeve," she remarked.

Isa frowned, looking down at himself. Indeed, there was some leftover frosting. He wiped it with his thumb before rolling his sleeves up, better safe than sorry. "Gingerbread," he answered flatly, because he wasn't lying, before making his way to a cooling tray he had left away from prying eyes and hungry mouths. He brought the tray to the table and laid the several pieces of gingerbread, in all squares and rectangles, to the side. He then fetched the icing from the fridge. "I'm making a house. We always used to make one for the holiday and expose it in the house until it was time to eat it." 

"Oh, I remember that. Your mom kicked my butt when I ate the door before it was ‘ _ time _ ’." Lea complained behind them, as he threw himself onto the couch in the living room. Roxas took a seat on the counter and watched curiously as Isa started building the house. 

"Well, Mom had always been attached to traditions. I thought it would be a good idea to keep them one more year," he smiled to himself as memories flood his mind, of sweet and peaceful time when they were but children. When he noticed Xion leaning in, he handed her the icing. "Here. You can help if you want." 

She didn’t have to be offered twice, she immediately copied what Isa had just done with the first pieces, and with some help, got the four walls to stand up together. The smile on her face was radiant and the sight filled Isa's heart with a warmth he had yet to get accustomed to once again. This specific time of year was precious to him, full of his happiest memories of times where he could snuggle between his parents on the couch before the crackling fire or eat all the delicious food they used to prepare for when family and friends would come. He was ecstatic to see how it brought just as much joy to Roxas and Xion, who were experiencing it all for the first time.

Xion put the last piece of the house down and backed away, hands on her hips and head high. "All done!" She shouted, very obviously proud of herself. Roxas clapped from his vantage point. 

"I can't wait to eat it! It looks good!" And Xion's smile grew even wider. Just as she opened her mouth to talk once more, a  _ bip _ sound went off in the background, startling all of them. Isa was the first to compose himself, hurrying to turn off the oven. 

"The cookies are ready," he announced as he carefully got them out. 

The scent filled the room, quickly followed by the warmth of freshly baked goods. It didn’t take two seconds before Lea reappeared in the kitchen. "It smells so good it’s a sin," he sighed, delighted, swiftly making his way to the cookies. Before Isa could stop him, he stole one. Had it been anyone, the mere touch would have been a punishment, but the heat only made Lea smirk as he bit into the treat.

" **Hmm** ,  **that's amazing** ." 

"Not fair!" Roxas yelled from his seat, pointing an accusatory finger at Lea. He immediately jumped to his feet and, too, stole a cookie from the cooling tray. Before the heat even got to his fingers, he pushed the entire piece in his mouth. His face instantly turned red. 

"Oh," he said softly, before hiding his face behind his hands and loudly inhaling cooler air. Xion gently elbowed him in the ribs, a laugh to her words. "Silly."

Roxas closed his eyes and, if Isa looked closely, he could almost see salty pearls threatening to fall down his cheeks. "They' hot!" Roxas mumbled. 

The loud laughter of Lea echoed next to him as the man shoved another piece into his mouth, now lukewarm. Xion, much more careful than her friends, cut a cookie in two and tentatively tasted it. When it didn’t burn her tongue on the spot, she entirely pushed it into her mouth. In seconds, her eyes closed and she moaned in delight. "That's so good! I've never eaten anything like that before!" 

Isa, a grin of his own stretching his lips, leaned against the counter before ruffling Xion's hair. "And there's so much more to taste." 

With a smile so bright it rivaled the sun, Xion leaned forward, hands pressed together to her chest. "I can't wait. This is gonna be the best first Christmas ever!" And deep down, Isa knew that, for sure, it would be the best - for her and for them all -, as life had granted them the opportunity to rebuild their lives surrounded by those they loved.

“Yes,” he said with a fond smile, eyes twinkling with the lights of the city. “It’s going to be the best.” 


End file.
